


Lavellan x Cullen Close Calls

by drswriting



Category: Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: F/M, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-07
Updated: 2018-10-07
Packaged: 2019-07-27 12:49:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 848
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16219379
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/drswriting/pseuds/drswriting





	Lavellan x Cullen Close Calls

Emprise de Lion

 

It had only been a matter of days since the fall of Haven, the wounds barely dressed, and the Inquisitor was already impatient to be on the move.

Cullen had convinced himself that J'oan wasn't going to make it back from Haven. But here they were. Ribs wrapped up tighter than a drum. Jaw clenched and brow furrowed in pain. Something he loved about their expressive face. And something he thought he would never see again. 

It was supposed to be an easy scouting mission. And that's always the way it goes. You think easy and it comes hard. You think hard and it comes easy.

Commander Cullen analyzed all situations in this manner - as a commander. It was demanded of him, expected of him.

J'oan was quietly taking stock of their encampment along the edge of the frozen lake. He could tell as a fellow fighter that they were examining the layout for weaknesses and the best points to defend from. Cullen hadn't heard much about J'oan's upbringing or training with their clan. From what he understood though, they were a trained elvish hunter, with the wolf scars to prove it. Their bow was never far from their long fingertips  

Fingertips. Probably cold. Reaching. 

Cullen felt his face flush at the thought, all the while silently cursing his own imagination for lingering. At that exact moment the Inquisitor seemed to notice his increasingly intense gaze. Cullen's flush deepened as he quickly turned his head and coughed to clear his throat.

The Inquisitor was caught off guard at first, but smiled softly after locking eyes with Cullen  They turned their head as well, unable to keep the pleased and tired grin off of their face.

Barely a moment passed and a flash of green could be seen across the frozen solid surface of the lake. The sound of the rift tearing itself into existence echoed across the expanse of ice and snow.

A rift must be closed but the Inquisitor was still shaken from Haven's fall. Cullen's stomach clenched with dread and something else that felt like... worry. They weren't ready for a fight so soon but the rift demons had other ideas. 

"We have to protect the camp and our people ," they say, looking first to Cullen then to the small cluster of tents side by side. The small gesture of faith and trust touches something deep in the commander's chest.

Demons and spirits screeched and roared, seeking out vessels to take hold of. J'oan nodded at Cullen and he knew at once to alert his men and match step with them across the ice. Cullen barely reached the fight in time to step between the Inquisitor and the rage demon pursuing them. The fire came off of it in waves, heating the air around it.

"I can take this one," J'oan shouted above the noise. Cullen used his sword as a brace and pushed the burning rage demon across the ice.

"You're needed elsewhere!" He shouted, pointing to the ever growing rift. The green hole in the sky shuddered and shot out more of its spirits.

His head ached, throbbing from the several day long head ache. The withdrawal after the battle at Haven was terrible. Vomiting violently, unable to sleep, trembling. It interfered with everything. 

J'oan was lightning fast with their bow, striking down two green spirits with one arrow. As Cullen hacked away at the hardened lava that made up the rage demon, his breathing evened, finding his rhythm. The blows came easy when he focused like this. In through the nose, out through the mouth. Calculated. Even. 

A pause, a bright green light, and the demon crumbled to charcoal and ash. Cullen took the time to shake out his tense arms, remembering not to lock his knees or elbows. J'oan clutched their side, exactly where Cullen had seen the healers wrap up. From the fall at Haven the Inquisitor had broken ribs. The healers had fought with them just before leaving camp, urging J'oan not to fight on the front lines. Now he felt the pang of worry again and stronger. 

"Before the next wave, get behind me, you shouldn't be fighting like this after -" 

"No!" panted J'oan, face crumpled with pain, "I have to seal the rift! I have to fight, I have to!" they cried. 

"You're no use to the Inquisition if you're dead!" he shouted, heat rising within him. He felt the anger, felt it just as he did from the lyrium withdrawal. The burn scorched his veins sending strikes of fire down his limbs. The pain of it all nearly made him stumble. He knew better than to cry out. 

J'oan watched his face spasm in pain and it confused them. _The_ Commander Cullen showing pain? They knew he was hiding something. Something he hadn't told them. They mainly just traded flirtatious remarks with him, even venturing a kiss on the rough patch of beard along his jawline. He hadn't been able to get his face to return to its normal coloring for an hour after. 


End file.
